The present invention is directed to an axially rotatable vise for holding small objects. It is particularly useful for holding fishhooks while tying artificial flies and similar lures.
The use of artificial flies for fish lures apparently dates back into antiquity. These flies comprise carefully chosen pieces of feathers and other materials which are tied to a fishhook to simulate either a real or fanciful insect. In view of the well known propensity for trout and other species of game fish to be highly selective in their feeding habits, it is necessary for flies to be tied with considerable skill if the fisherman hopes to be successful. A basic and essential piece of equipment in the process of making artificial flies is the small vise which rigidly holds the hook in the desired position while the dressing is being applied. Until one studies the requirements which must be met, it would seem that a fly-tying vise would be an easy piece of equipment to design. That this is not so is well attested to by the literally dozens of different vise designs available for the professional or recreational fly-tier. While each of these vise designs may have it's limited group of fans, few of them have found general and broad acceptance.
One of the difficulties in designing a good fly tying vise lies in the requirement that it must hold hooks which range from several centimeters in length to those which are only a few millimeters long. These must be securely anchored in a manner so that the shank of the hook is accessible to the artisan. Quite commonly, the vise does not hold the hook tightly, especially when larger flies are being tied, so that it slips in the jaws when body wrapping is being applied. In many other cases, the vise does not allow ready visual accessibility so that the artisan can see only the top of the fly, or the bottom of the fly, which he is preparing. The vise also must be configured so that it will not physically interfere with applying the dressing to the hook.
In general, fly tying vises use a collet-type arrangement to apply or release holding pressure on the hook. A smaller number of vises use different arrangements in which the hook-holding jaws are loosened or tightened by a screw or other means. Most vises hold the fly in a fixed position. Much less commonly, the vise will permit the fly to be rotated so that the artisan can see or work on different aspects during the process.
Prior designs of fly-tying vises are well exemplified in both the American and European patent literature. As examples, French Pat. No. 1,092,879 and Swiss Pat. No. 483,781 show vises for holding hooks while applying leaders. The French vise is rotatable about a longitudinal axis. French Pat. No. 1,199,376 shows a vise having a shaft rotatable around it's longitudinal axis. The end of the shaft is split and is equipped with a screw which tightens the two halves to hold the hook. U.S. Pat. No. 2,120,571 to Reichenstein et al. shows a vise in which a hook is secured in a fixed clamp between wing nut activated jaws. U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,781 to Pannier is apparently one of the more successful types since similar vises are marketed presently. This vise has collet-type jaws and is tiltable to allow minor adjustment of the working position. Fong, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,142, shows a split-jaw type of clamp activated by a screw having a lever handle. This is tiltable but not rotatable. Murray, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,613, shows a somewhat unusual type of fly-tying vise in that it also has means for holding the hairs or other elements of a streamer-type fly in position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,645 to Starling is a collet-type vise which holds the hook in a fixed position and has an ancillary means for rapidly applying body wrapping. U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,655 to Miles is a relatively complex motor driven fly-tying machine dedicated to the problem of rapidly applying body wrapping around the hook shank. Temple, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,489,547, is a simple vise having a screw activated split clamp similar to that shown in Fong. This vise is also rotatable along it's longitudinal axis by means of a small hand crank. Reuzetti, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,562, shows a similar rotatable vise. Reuzetti, however, has the hook clamping device offset at an angle from the shaft so that the shank of the hook lies along the axis of rotation. Another rotatable vice which permits the hook shank to lie approximately along the axis of rotation is made by the Universal Rotating Vise Company, Holyoke, Mass., and is apparently unpatented. The jaws are axially located but the upper part of the jaws are ground away so that the hook is grasped by a pair of small protruding point-like surfaces. Another rotating vise is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,577, to Price. The feature which apparently makes this vise unique is a clamp which is broadly adjustable to accommodate bench surfaces of widely varying thicknesses.
The above list of devices includes those of the general types which appear to be most closely related to the subject of the present invention. While many of them are excellent fly-tying vises, all have certain deficiencies which have been largely or wholy overcome by the vise which is the subject of the present invention.